Commander Land Forces

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Commander Land Forces is a senior post in the British Army that commands Land Forces Command.[1]

Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces (CINCLAND), was a senior officer in the British Army. CINCLAND commanded HQ Land Forces, an administrative apparatus that had responsibility for all of the army's fighting units in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), Germany and Brunei, together with training garrisons in Nepal, Belize, Canada and Kenya. CINCLAND was also the Standing Joint Commander (UK) (SJC (UK)), with responsibility for the provision of Military Aid to the Civil Power within the United Kingdom. The position had existed since 1968, when it was known as General Officer Commanding Army Strategic Command. In 1972 it became Commander-in-Chief United Kingdom Land Forces (CINCUKLF). As from 1 April 2008, HQ Land Command was renamed HQ Land Forces (HQLF). Therefore, the Commander-in-Chief became Commander-in-Chief of HQ Land Forces.[2]

CINCLAND headed the Commanders-in-Chief Committee, a body established for contingency planning purposes.[3]

The post changed to a three-star position, Commander Land Forces, after 1 November 2011 following a major army command reorganisation.[4] In November 2015, the post of Commander Land Forces was redesignated as Commander Field Army.[5]

On 16 March 2026, it was announced that the post of Commander Land Forces would be reinstated with a global remit for operations, training, and warfare development with Lieutenant General Zac Stenning taking up the role.[1]

Post holders

Holders of the post have been:[6]

Image Rank Name Term began Term ended Ref
Commander-in-Chief Army Strategic Command
General Sir John Mogg April 1968 May 1970 [7]
General Sir Mervyn Butler May 1970 November 1971 [8]
General Sir Frank King November 1971 April 1972 [9]
Commander-in-Chief United Kingdom Land Forces
General Sir Basil Eugster April 1972 April 1974 [10]
General Sir Roland Gibbs April 1974 May 1976 [11]
General Sir Edwin Bramall May 1976 April 1978 [12]
General Sir John Archer April 1978 January 1980 [13]
General Sir Timothy Creasey January 1980 April 1981 [14]
General Sir John Stanier April 1981 July 1982 [15]
General Sir Frank Kitson July 1982 June 1985 [16]
General Sir James Glover June 1985 June 1987 [17]
General Sir John Chapple June 1987 September 1988 [18]
General Sir Charles Huxtable September 1988 October 1990 [17]
General Sir John Waters October 1990 March 1993 [17]
General Sir John Wilsey March 1993 April 1995 [17]
Commander-in-Chief Land Command
General Sir John Wilsey April 1995 March 1996 [17]
General Sir Roger Wheeler March 1996 January 1997 [19]
General Sir Michael Walker January 1997 March 2000 [20]
General Sir Michael Jackson March 2000 January 2003 [21]
General Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman January 2003 March 2005 [22]
General Sir Richard Dannatt March 2005 August 2006 [23]
General Sir Redmond Watt August 2006 February 2008 [24]
Commander-in-Chief Land Forces
General Sir David Richards February 2008 July 2009 [25]
General Sir Peter Wall July 2009 July 2010 [26]
General Sir Nick Parker July 2010 November 2011 [27]
Commander United Kingdom Field Army
Lieutenant General Redmond Watt September 2003 March 2005 [28]
Lieutenant General Robin Brims March 2005 October 2007 [29]
Lieutenant General Graeme Lamb October 2007 July 2009 [30]
Lieutenant General Barney White-Spunner July 2009 October 2011 [31]
Lieutenant General Nick Carter October 2011 January 2012 [32]
Commander Land Forces
General Sir Nick Parker November 2011 December 2012 [33]
Lieutenant General Adrian Bradshaw January 2013 November 2013 [34]
Lieutenant-General Nick Carter November 2013 September 2014 [35]
Lieutenant-General James Everard September 2014 November 2015 [36]
Commander Field Army
Lieutenant General Sir James Everard November 2015 December 2016 [37]
Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders December 2016 March 2019 [38]
Lieutenant General Ivan Jones March 2019 April 2021 [39]
Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse April 2021 March 2024 [40]
Lieutenant General Mike Elviss March 2024 March 2026 [41]
Commander Land Forces
Lieutenant-General Zachary Stenning March 2026 Incumbent [42]

See also

References

  1. "Army announces three senior leadership appointments". Ministry of Defence. 16 March 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  2. HQ Land Forces on the move Archived 7 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Drumbeat, June 2008
  3. "Select Committee on Defence, March 2002". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  4. Army Command reorganization Archived 2011-11-12 at the Wayback Machine Defence Marketing Intelligence, 10 November 2011
  5. "Freedom of Information: CFA Restructure" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  6. Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Carver, Michael (3 November 2001). "General Sir John Mogg—Ebullient military commander involved in Britain's conflicts from Malaya to Northern Ireland". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  8. Whitaker's Almanack 1971
  9. "No. 45510". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1971. p. 11850.
  10. "Eugster, Basil". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012.
  11. "No. 46252". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 April 1974. p. 4282.
  12. "No. 46901". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 May 1976. p. 7063.
  13. "Obituary: General Sir John Archer". The Telegraph. 22 March 1999. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010.
  14. "Creasey, Timothy". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.
  15. Heathcote, Tony (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736–1997. Barnsley (UK): Pen and Sword Books. p. 270. ISBN 0-85052-696-5.
  16. "No. 49055". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 July 1982. p. 9457.
  17. Debrett's People of Today 1994
  18. "Field Marshal Sir John Chapple obituary". The Times. 26 March 2022. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  19. "No. 54342". The London Gazette. 11 March 1996. p. 3703.
  20. "No. 54662". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 January 1997. p. 1092.
  21. "No. 55782". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 March 2000. p. 2558.
  22. "No. 56830". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 January 2003. p. 1051.
  23. "No. 57577". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 March 2005. p. 2815.
  24. "Thorough" (PDF). The Kitchener Scholars' Association. 1 January 2025. p. 3. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  25. "No. 58602". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 February 2008. p. 1683.
  26. "No. 59133". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 July 2009. p. 12504.
  27. "No. 59565". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 October 2010. p. 19215.
  28. "No. 57069". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 September 2003. p. 12054.
  29. "No. 57596". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 March 2005. p. 3752.
  30. "No. 58489". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 October 2007. p. 15280.
  31. "No. 59120". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 July 2009. p. 11615.
  32. "No. 59973". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 November 2011. p. 22333.
  33. "Army Command reorganization". Defence Marketing Intelligence. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  34. Defence Viewpoints, Up and Out: Promotions, leavers, new jobs May 2012
  35. "Ups and outs July 2013". Defence Viewpoints. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  36. "New UK Commander, Land Forces announced". Defence Viewpoints. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  37. "New UK Commander, Land Forces announced". Defence Viewpoints. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  38. "No. 61793". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 December 2016. p. 26901.
  39. "No. 62610". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 April 2019. p. 6432.
  40. "No. 63325". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 April 2021. p. 7239.
  41. "British Army welcomes Iraq and Afghanistan veteran as new Commander Field Army". Forces.net. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  42. "No. 65056". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 May 2026. p. 9026.